VOLUNTEER FOCUS

Join the IRHH Volunteers

The IRHH relies heavily on an army of volunteers to run many of the charity's non-nursing functions and always welcomes additional help. Volunteers are obviously unpaid - although travelling expenses are covered - but can gain real satisfaction from being part of a friendly, sociable team committed to a really good cause. If you want to discuss volunteering, please contact Emily Smith on 01494 713888 or email esmith@irhh.org.

Current volunteer vacancies include:

NURSING EQUIPMENT ADMINISTRATOR, based at the Cedar Barn office in High Wycombe, required for one half day a week to look after the nursing equipment store. Duties include checking stock levels of equipment from bandages to wheelchairs, ordering new stock and, ideally, collecting stock from High Wycombe General Hospital. You won't need any medical knowledge - the nurses will help you out if you are unsure about anything - but an organised approach would be useful and if you are a car driver/owner that would be ideal, but not necessary.

RECEPTIONIST, based at the Tring Office, required for one or two half days a week. Duties can be very varied, from answering the telephone and greeting visitors to organising the post, stuffing envelopes and watering the office plants. We'll be sending out Christmas Cards soon, so come and join us!

MIU CO-ORDINATOR, based at home. The IRHH Mobile Information Unit visits town centres and major events across the IRHH area throughout the year to promote the work of the IRHH. Working with the Fundraising Team, the MIU Co-ordinator makes arrangements to attend events and organises a driver and team of volunteers.

Additional MIU DRIVERS AND REPRESENTATIVES are also urgently needed to transport and man the unit.

SHOP VOLUNTEERS. Our amazing Shop Volunteers should feel incredibly proud of the IRHH shops' performance in the recent Charity Finance magazine report (see Shop Talk). This is a fantastic achievement and we are very grateful to all our shop volunteers who work so hard on behalf of Iain Rennie to raise vital funds for our work.

However, our shops are still in need of help as we receive so many donated goods that our volunteers cannot sort it all, so if you can spare a morning or afternoon a week, why not help in one of our shops. Hard work and good fun are guaranteed and you will be helping to raise more funds for Iain Rennie.

Volunteers "Hidden" Gift of £225,000

Iain Rennie volunteers contribute a staggering 54,676 hours of their time each year. If we had to pay for this time, even at the minimum wage rate, we would have to find an extra £225,000 per annum. Of course, many volunteers take on very responsible and demanding roles within the organisation, so the real value of this gift of time is likely to be more like £450,000. This is an amazing figure, and means that volunteers are Iain Rennie's most generous donors. We could not function without them and offer them all our sincere thanks.

	Volunteer Outing to Warwick Castle Ann Ogie, Sheila Smith and Miriam Ralph were among the 57 volunteers from across the hospice who came on this year's outing to Warwick Castle and Stratford upon Avon on Wednesday 12th June. The outing offered two options: a day at Warwick Castle where the volunteers explored the ancient building and rested in the beautiful gardens. They also saw the Madame Tussauds' Royal Weekend Party exhibit featuring many well known faces from 1898 including the Prince of Wales and a young Winston Churchill. Others chose to visit Stratford upon Avon to visit Anne Hathaway's Cottage and also make use of the local shops.

Jigsaw Information Sessions
	If you want to find out more about how the IRHH works, then come along to one of our Jigsaw Information Sessions. In an afternoon, you will find out how the service was established, how the nurses work, how the IRHH is funded and what we believe in. In short - how the Iain Rennie Jigsaw pieces fit together! Anyone interested in the work of our Hospice At Home is welcome. Sessions in 2003 are planned for 27th January, 19th May and 29th September at convenient locations throughout our area. Contact Emily Smith on 01494 713888 or email esmith@irhh.org to book a place.
"I recently went to a Jigsaw Information Session and it was really excellent. I've been associated with Iain Rennie for years, but I learned so much about how the different parts of the organisation work. I'd recommend it to all volunteers and anyone interested in learning more about the Hospice At Home." Sheila Savage - Reception Volunteer, Tring Office